Fig trees are some of the most fabulous trees that I see around me on a fairly frequent basis. The size of them and their natural form when they are allowed to grow as nature intended is so interesting. My absolute favourite fig tree is the Moreton Bay fig, or Ficus macrophylla. The common name of this amazing tree is from the fact that it comes from the fact it grows around Moreton Bay in Queensland. Ficus is the Latin word for fig. Macrophylla is composed of two Greek words-‘makros’ which means large and ‘phyllum’ that means leaf.

This very large tree that can reach a spread of up to 40 metres and a height of up to 55 metres. This species starts out as an epiphytic plant in the canopy of a host tree, remaining so until its roots reach the ground. At this point, it becomes a strangler fig and from there it becomes a fabulous specimen of a tree. It is a species native to the Australian states of New South Wales (north of the Shoalhaven River) and Queensland, in all types of coastal rainforest.

Its leaves are oblong to elliptical in shape and leathery. Green in colour, they are paler on the underside and up to 25cm long. Figs are ovoid to 2 cm long. They start as green and ripen to purple. This fig gets pollinated by wasps.

There is also a form called ‘columnaris’ that occurs only on Lord Howe Island off the coast of NSW. This is recognisable by its many roots that form columns between the ground and branches. This form doesn’t have the single main trunk-the many ‘trunks’ originate from aerial roots. In the Sydney Botanic Gardens (where the tree below is located) there is a plaque with some information about the tree-apparently, the largest specimen found on Lord Howe Island was (or is) about one hectare in size Call me a geek or an oddball, but random facts like this always grab my interest-how does a single tree get so big? Nature is pretty fabulous.

While I do love these fig trees, I would never suggest that such a tree should be grown in a home garden, or planted on the side of a street. These trees belong in a space where they can grow into their full, massive glory.

Do not put paving or asphalt around their roots, drive cars around the roots, or any other ridiculous feats of human-induced nonsense. Give them an admittedly huge amount of space and you will be rewarded with fabulous buttress roots and aerial roots too.